1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cleaning systems and, more particularly, to a recovery tank assembly for a mobile cleaning (or shampooing) system.
2. General Background of the Invention
Numerous cleaning systems are available today for cleaning and/or shampooing of carpets, upholstery, and the like. A typical system may include a mechanism for heating liquid (e.g., cleaning solution and/or water) that may be conveyed under pressure to and sprayed onto carpet or upholstery to be cleaned. In addition, some type of vacuum device is generally provided for effecting vacuum removal of the liquid from the carpet or upholstery along with the soil. Typically, these cleaning systems, which usually include internal combustion engines for driving the cleaning liquid and vacuum pump(s), are generally mounted in or carried by a motor vehicle such as a panel truck or van (e.g., for ease of transport).
An exemplary conventional cleaning system provides a vehicle-mounted system that includes a high pressure pump that draws liquid from a fresh liquid supply, may pass it through a heat exchanger to heat the same, and then passes it through a high pressure hose to a hand-held cleaning wand to enable high pressure water to be applied to the object to be cleaned. Moreover, a vacuum blower capable of generating a strong vacuum is typically connected to a recovery tank from which air is extracted to produce the vacuum. A vacuum hose is generally also connected to this recovery tank and the cleaning wand. Accordingly, the system can suck the liquid along with the soil from the object and pass same into the recovery tank (also referred to in the art as a “waste tank” or “waste recovery tank”).
A conventional recovery tank 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. This recovery tank 10, as is overwhelmingly typical of conventional recovery tanks, is box-shaped or rectangular in cross section. An outlet pipe (and typically a corresponding valve) 12 can generally be found at or near a junction of a bottom wall 14 and a side wall 16 of the tank 10. Further, a vacuum air hose connection 18 generally opens into a portion (generally the topmost) of the tank 10, and a filter 20 (e.g., a sleeve of a porous synthetic material) is generally employed to keep lint and the like from being returned to a vacuum pump (not shown) interconnected with the vacuum air hose connection 18. Yet further, a vacuum suction line (cleaning) connection 22 extends into the tank 10 (generally at or toward a top or upper portion 24). The fluid (water/cleaning solution), which has been disposed on the carpet, and dirt or the like are brought into the recovery tank during the typical vacuuming operation using a wand (not shown) over the carpet to be cleaned.
Conventional recovery tanks (such as the recovery tank 10) have been laden with numerous shortcomings. For instance, these recovery tanks have been shown to exhibit insufficient filtering capacity. Moreover, significant quantities of dirt, lint, and the like tend to settle and deposit on the large flat surface area of the bottom wall 14 of the recovery tank 10. This dirt/lint tends to build up and typically fails to be sufficiently extracted from the tank 10 upon opening of the outlet pipe 12, thus resulting in increased wear (e.g., propensity for rusting and/or corrosion), and even plugging of the outlet pipe 12.